ShareThisDear Babe: I have a card with a team picture of the Red Stockings B.B. Club of Cincinnati on one side and a cartoon on the other. It's signed by Andrew Peck. It's from 1869. I also have an 1868 Atlantic Nine card. They are from the collection of my grandfather, Charles W. Mears, known as Doc Statistics in the Cleveland, Ohio newspaper. He was a huge baseball fan and collector. Most of his collection was donated to the Cleveland Public Library in the 1940s after his death. -- Charlotte Walbert, Atlanta
It's amazing what a little publicity will do -- even during a recession. Although the national uproar over a similar card that finally sold for $75,286 is probably what led you to write, your card isn't getting anywhere near that level of publicity.
"Wow. If she's really has these two cards, she has two of the best of all 19th-century cards," said Robert Lifson, president of Robert Edward Auctions of Watchung, N.J. "The 1869 Reds card is particularly valuable. The 1869 Red Stockings are the very first professional team, so to many this is the first baseball card. Approximately a dozen of this style of this card is known. This card in this shape is worth at least $20,000, maybe a lot more since all the national attention."
Lifson said it's not, in fact, the very first baseball card, "but it's close." A number of cards, including team cards, are one or a few years older. It appears that the Athletics card is one of these. The 1868 Athletics were a prominent club, said Lifson, who has seen only one other card from the team. Without comparing images, he couldn't be sure it's the same. "The back of the card is definitely different," he added, "... though it is a very exciting card. I would have to do a little research on this one and examine in person. It could also be worth $10,000 or possibly a multiple of that."
Lifson has handled the sale of a couple of the cards over the years. In 2005 a mounted and trimmed card sold for $6,960. In 2006, another one sold for $26,100. The price was up to $29,375 when a third one sold in 2007.
The buyer of the 2006 card put it back on the market for the REA auction site's upcoming sale. Bidding will close May 2.
Dear Babe: I have a 1960 Los Angeles Ram pennant with a color-picture insert. In the picture are Jaguar Jon Arnett, Dick Bass, Les Richter, Del Shofner and others. It has faded over the years. -- Tom Jarrett, Redding, Calif.
"These 1960s style photo pennants are quite popular,'' said Dave Stark of www.pennantking.com in San Diego. "They are not often found in good shape. While, there are variations, which affect value, pennants in very good condition, having some damage to photo/fading etc. are worth about $45 on average.
A pennant in mint condition would be worth around $125. However, Stark cautioned that in this market, the values might be a little on the high side.
Dear Babe: I have a Rockford Peaches hat from the Hall of Fame with the signatures of four women from the Nov. 5, 1988 induction. The hat is signed by Ruth Richard, Alice Desihanice, Joan Berger and Jean Uamjuin Maminc. Who were these girls? -- Don Ryan, Merrimack, N.H.
I think Alice's name is Deschaine. It was Pollitt when she played for the Peaches. I am guessing that Maminc is really Jean Manina, whose maiden name was Knebl. All the women were with the Peaches in the 1947-1953 timeframe. That was after the period depicted in the 1992 movie "A League of Their Own,'' which made the All-American Girls Professional Baseball Association famous. For the record, while the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown opened a "Women in Baseball'' exhibit in late 1988, none of the female players was actually inducted into the Hall of Fame. The signed hat might be worth $100, but it would be a hard sell, said Mike Gutierrez, consignment director for Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com) in Dallas.
(Send card questions to Babe Waxpak, PO Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or e-mail babewaxpak(at)charter.net. If possible, include card number, year and brand or a photocopy. Please do not send cards. For Babe Waxpak's blog, see www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak. Babe Waxpak is a feature of The Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
